Sie sind auf Seite 1von 39

1

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
CODE OF COMMERCE
COMMERCE - branch of human activity; purpose is to bring products to the consumer
through operations habitually and with intent of gain
COMMERCIAL LAW - branch of private law which regulates the juridical relations arising
from commercial acts
CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMERCIAL LAW:
1. universal
2. uniform
3. equitable
4. customary
5. progressive
PORTIONS OF CODE OF COMMERCE STILL APPLICABLE:
1. merchants; book of merchants and general provision of contracts
2. joint account association
3. commercial barter
4. transfers of non-negotiable credits
5. commercial contracts of overland transportation
6. letters of credit
7. maritime commerce
OTHERS:
1. Commerce - bringing products from the manufacturers to the consumers
2. Characteristics of Commerce:
a. habituality
b. rapidity - if period is fixed, debtor in delay without need of demand; if contract does
not fix period, 10 days
c. intent to join
3. Merchant:
a. Individuals - legal capacity, 21 years, or subject to parental authority, habitually
engaged in commerce
b. Juridical Persons - commercial and industrial company organized in accordance
with law, habitually engaged in business
4. General Rule: Minors cannot engage in commerce
Exceptions:
a. to continue business of deceased parents through guardian
b. court authorizes guardian to place minor and property in business
c. minor is an alien and his national law allows him to be a merchant
5. Which persons are not allowed to engage in commerce?
a. suffering accessory penalty of civil interdiction (reclusion perpetua and reclusion
temporal)
b. those judicially declared insolvent until they can obtain their discharge
c. prohibited by Constitution and special laws
6. Aliens
a. capacitated under his national law to engage in business
b. engaged in the business in the Philippines not reserved for the Filipinos
c. after securing license and BOI certificate
7. Family Code: Either spouse may engage in business; when objected to by the other,
court will look into valid grounds, i.e. serious and moral grounds
8. BOI Certificate must be obtained by:
a. alien
b. foreign firm

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
9. Meaning of Philippine National
a. citizen
b. domestic corporation wholly owned and organized by Filipinos in the Philippines
c. Filipino corporation where Filipino capital entitled to vote is at least 60%
10. Query: If a corporation is a shareholder of another corporation, how do you determine
whether the latter corporation is a Filipino national?
Answer: The following must concur a. At least 60% of the outstanding capital stock and entitled to vote of both
corporations are held by citizens of the Philippines
b. At least 60% of the Board of Directors of both corporations are Filipinos
11. Tenor of BOI Certificate
a. Business or activity to be engaged is consistent with the Investment Priorities Plan
b. Business will contribute to the sound and balanced development of the national
economy in a self-sustaining basis
c. Business will not conflict with the Constitution and local laws
d. Business is not adequately exploited by Filipino nationals
e. No danger of monopolies/combinations in restraint of trade
12. Basic Principles/Conditions laid down by BOI
a. resident agent of foreign firm is a Filipino citizen
b. establishment of office in the Philippines
c. bringing assets tot he Philippine office as capital
d. complete set of accounting records
13. Merger and Consolidation subject to BOI requirements for the issuance of certificate:
When merger and consolidation result in ownership and control of non-Filipino
nationals over more than 40% of the capital of a consolidated corporation.
14. SEC License issued upon compliance with the following requirements:
a. proof of compliance with principle of reciprocity
b. BOI certificate
c. Applicant for license gives required information
articles of incorporation
by-laws
names and addresses of resident agents
principal place of business in the Philippines
d. proof of solvency
e. deposit acceptable securities to protect future creditors
RETAIL TRADE NATIONALIZATION LAW
(Note: Material on the Retail Trade Liberalization Law will not be included in this reviewer.
Supplement to follow)
1. Retail Trade - any act, occupation, or calling of habitually selling direct to the general
public, merchandise, commodities, or goods for consumption
Jurisprudence has held that the term retail should be associated with and limited
to goods for personal, family or household use, consumption and utilization. The Retail
Trade Nationalization Law refers to consumption goods or consumer goods which
directly satisfy human wants and desires and are needed for home and daily life. Excluded
from the law are those goods which are considered generally raw material used in the
manufacture of other goods, or if not, as one of the component raw material, or at least as
elements utilized in the process of production and manufacturing.
2. Elements of What Constitutes Retail Trade:
a. The seller habitually engages in selling;
b. The sale is direct to the general public; and
c. The object of the sale is limited to merchandise, commodities or goods for
consumption.

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
3. General Rule: After 1964, only Filipinos or corporations whose capital is 100% Filipino
may engage in retail trade.
4. Exceptions, that is, instances when aliens may engage in retail trade in the Philippines:
a. manufacturer or processor if capital does not exceed P5,000.00;
b. farmer or agriculturist when selling his products;
c. manufacturer or processor selling to industrial or commercial users or consumers
who use the produce to render service to the general public or to produce or
manufacture goods which are sold by them to the public;
d. hotel owners or keepers of restaurants included or incidental to the hotel business;
e. sale by a manufacturer or processor to the Government or its agencies, including
government owned and controlled corporations
5. Query: How to determine citizenship of shares of the corporation when they are not
held directly by individuals, but in turn held by another entity?
Answer: apply the GRANDFATHER RULE, to wit:
Shares belonging to corporations or partnerships at least 60% of the capital of
which is owned by Filipino citizens shall be considered as Philippine nationality, but if the
percentage of Filipino ownership in the corporation or partnership is less than 60%, only
the number of shares corresponding to such percentage shall be counted as of Philippine
nationality. Thus, if 100,000 shares are registered in the name of a corporation or
partnership at least 60% of the capital stock or capital respectively, of which belong to
Filipino citizens, all of the said shares shall be recorded as owned by Filipinos. But, if lets
say, 50% of the capital stock belongs to Filipino citizens, only 50,000 shares shall be
counted as owned by Filipinos and the other 50,000 shares shall be recorded as belonging
to aliens.
However, while a corporation with 60% Filipino and 40% foreign equity ownership is
considered a Philippine national for purposes of investment, it is not qualified to invest in or
enter into a joint venture agreement with corporations or partnerships, the capital or
ownership of which under the Constitution or other special laws are limited to Filipino
citizens only. Hence, for purposes of the law, whatever the percentage of Filipino
ownership in the owning corporation, the foreign ownership would always render a portion
of its holding in the company as foreign equity and would disqualify the corporation to
engage in retail trade.
ANTI-DUMMY ACT
1. The Act penalizes Filipinos who permit aliens to use them as nominees or dummies to
enjoy privileges reserved for Filipinos or Filipino corporations. Criminal sanctions are
imposed on the president, manager, board member or persons in charge of the
violating entity and causing the latter to forfeit its privileges, rights and franchises.
2. Disqualified aliens cannot intervene in the management, operation, administration or
control of the business reserved to Filipinos whether as an officer, employee or laborer,
with or without remuneration, except when:
a. alien takes part in technical aspects;
b. provided that no Filipino can do such technical work; and
c. with express authority from the President, upon the recommendation of the
department head concerned.
3. By way of exception, the following may participate in management:
a. Aliens may be elected to the Board of Directors to the extent of their allowable
share in the capital of the corporation (in partially nationalized industries).
b. A registered enterprise may employ foreign nationals in supervisory, technical, and
advisory positions for a period of 5 years subject to extension.
c. Where majority of stocks of a pioneer enterprise is owned by foreign investors, the
following positions may be held by foreign nationals:
president
treasurer
general manager
equivalent positions

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
4. A Filipino common-law wife of an alien is not barred from engaging in the retail
business provided she uses capital exclusively derived from her paraphernal properties;
however, allowing her common-law alien husband to take part in the management of
the retail business would be a violation of the law.
5. What doing business means:
a. soliciting orders, purchases, service contracts;
b. opening offices whether called liaison offices or branches;
c. appointing representatives or distributors who are domiciled in the Philippines or
who in any calendar year stay in the country for a period totaling 180 days or more;
d. participating in the management or supervision or control of any domestic firm,
entity or corporation in the Philippines;
e. any other act or acts that imply continuity in commercial dealings
6. When commissioned merchants/investors or commercial brokers act in their own name
in selling foreign products, the foreign firm manufacturing these products is not doing
business in the Philippines.
7. When a local corporation or person acts in the name of a foreign firm, the latter is doing
business in the Philippines.
8. The following are NOT doing business:
a. mere investment as a shareholder by a foreign entity in domestic corporations duly
registered to do business;
b. exercise of rights as such investor;
c. having a nominee director or officer to represent interests in such corporation;
d. appointing a representative or distributor domiciled in the Philippines which
transacts business in its own name and for its own accounts.
TRUST RECEIPTS LAW
1. Purpose:
a. to encourage use of and to promote transactions based on trust receipts;
b. to regulate the use of trust receipts
2. Definition:
A written/printed document signed by the ENTRUSTEE in favor of the ENTRUSTER
whereby the latter releases the goods, documents or instruments tot he possession of the
former upon the ENTRUSTEES promise to hold said goods in trust for the ENTRUSTER,
and to sell the goods, etc. WITH THE OBLIGATION TO TURN OVER THE PROCEEDS
THEREOF TO THE EXTENT OF WHAT IS OWING TO THE ENTRUSTER; or to return the
goods if UNSOLD, or for other purposes.
3. Trust receipts are denominated in Philippine currency or acceptable and eligible foreign
currency.
4. ENTRUSTER is not liable as principal or vendor under any sale or contract to sell made
by the ENTRUSTEE.
5. Risk of loss is borne by the ENTRUSTEE.
6. Pending the duration of the trust agreement, the ENTRUSTERS security interest
cannot be prejudiced by claims of creditors of the ENTRUSTEE.
7. Loss of goods pending the dispossession shall not extinguish the obligation to the
ENTRUSTER for the value thereof.
LETTERS OF CREDIT
1. Kinds:
a. Commercial Letters of Credit
b. Travelers Letters of Credit
2. No protest required in case of dishonor.

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
3. Issued to definite persons and not to order, thus, non-negotiable.
4. Limited to a fixed account.
PRICE TAGS LAW
1. It requires articles of commerce sold at retail to bear prices.
JOINT ACCOUNTS
1. It exists when a merchant interests himself in the transaction of another merchant,
contributing thereto the amount of capital they may agree upon, and participating in the
favorable or unfavorable results thereof in the proportion they may determine.
2. Joint accounts do not adopt a firm name.
3. No suit may be maintained - investor and third persons dealing with the merchant
conducting business.
4. It is not subject to any formal requirement for validity; it may be oral.
BULK SALES LAW
1. Purpose: meant to protect creditors of businessmen against preferential or fraudulent
transfers
2. The law covers all transactions, whether done in good faith or not, or whether or not
the seller is in a state of insolvency, that fall within the description of what is a bulk
sale.
3. Types of transactions which are treated as bulk sales:
a. Sale, transfer, mortgage or assignments of a stock of goods, wares, merchandise,
provisions, or materials otherwise than in the ordinary course of trade;
b. Sale transfer, mortgage or assignments of all, or substantially all, of the business of
the vendor, mortgagor, transferor, or assignor;
c. Sale, transfer, mortgage, or assignment of all, or substantially all, of the fixtures
and equipment used in the business of the vendor, mortgagor, transferor, or
assignor.
4. Only creditors at the time of the sale in violation of the law are within the protection of
the laws and creditors subsequent to the sale are not covered.
5. Even if the transaction falls within the definition of bulk sale, the following are not
deemed covered by the law:
a. If the vendor, mortgagor, transferor or assignor produces and delivers a written
waiver of the provisions of the law from his creditors as shown by verified
statements;
b. The law does not apply to executors, administrators, receivers, assignees in
insolvency, or public officers, acting under process.
6. Obligations when transaction is a bulk sale:
a. The vendor must deliver to such vendee a written statement of:
names and addresses of all creditors to whom said vendor or mortgagor may
be indebted;
amount of indebtedness due or owing to each of said creditors
b. The vendor must apply the purchase money to the pro-rata payment of bona fide
claims of the creditors as shown in the verified statement.
c. The seller, at least 10 days before the sale, shall:
make a full detailed inventory of the goods, merchandise, etc., cost price of
each article to be included in the sale
notify every creditor at least 10 days before transferring possession of the
goods, of the price, terms and conditions of the sale

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
7. Consequences of Violation of Requirements under #6 above stated:
a. When 6(a) above is not complied with, the sale itself is void; the seller will be
criminally liable.
b. When 6(b) above is not complied with, the sale itself is also void; seller is also
criminally liable.
c. When 6(c) is not complied with, the sale is not void; no criminal liability on the seller.
INSURANCE LAW
1. Laws applicable to insurance in the order of priority:
a. Insurance Code
b. Civil Code
c. General Principles prevailing on the subject in the US
2. Contract of Insurance - an agreement whereby one undertakes for a consideration to
indemnify another against loss, damage or liability arising from an unknown contingent
event
3. Contract of Suretyship - deemed to be an insurance contract within the meaning of the
Insurance Code, only if made by a surety who or which, as such, is doing an insurance
business
4. Definition of doing an insurance business:
a. making or proposing to make, as insurer, any insurance contract;
b. making or proposing to make as a surety, any contract of suretyship as a vocation
and not merely incidental to any other legitimate business or activity of the surety;
c. doing reinsurance business;
d. doing or proposing to do any business in the substance equivalent to any of the
foregoing in a manner designed to evade the provisions of the Insurance Code.
5. Requisites of Insurance:
a. existence of an insurable interest;
b. risk of loss;
c. assumption of risk;
d. scheme to distribute losses; and
e. payment of premiums
Note: If only a, b, and c are present, it is not a contract of insurance but a risk
shifting device.
6. Characteristics of an insurance contract:
a. consensual
b. voluntary
c. aleatory - depends upon some contingent event; however, it is not a wagering nor a
gambling contract
d. executed as to the insured after payment of the premium
e. executory as to insurer - not executed until payment for a loss
f. personal - each party takes into account the character, credit and the conduct of the
other
g. conditional - liability is based on the happening of the event insured against
7. Parties to a contract of Insurance:
a. insurer - party who assumes the risk or undertakes to indemnify the insured or to
pay a certain sum on the happening of a specified contingency
b. insured - person in whose favor the contract is operative, and who is indemnified
against, or is to receive a certain sum upon the happening of a specified
contingency
c. beneficiary - may or may not be the same as the insured

What perils may be insured?


(a) any contingent or unknown event, whether past or future, which may damnify a
person having an insurable interest; or

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
(b) any contingent or unknown event, whether past or future, which may create a
liability against the person insured.
8. Every person has an insurable interest in the life and health of:
a. himself, his spouse and his children
b. any person on whom he depends wholly or in part for education or support, or in
whom he has a pecuniary interest
c. any person under a legal obligation to him for the payment of money, or respecting
property or services, of which death or illness might prevent the performance or
delay it
d. any person upon whose life any estate or any interest vested in him depends
9. Insurable Interest in Property may consist of:
a. an existing interest
b. an inchoate interest, founded on an existing interest
c. an expectancy, coupled with an existing interest out of which the expectancy arises

Definition of Insurable Interest in Property: Interest in property, whether real or


personal, or any relation thereto, or liability in respect thereof, of such nature that a
contemplated peril might directly damnify the insured.

10. Instances when Insurable Interest must exist:


a. Interest in Property insured must exist when the insurance takes effect and when
the loss occurs, but need not exist in the meantime.
b. Interest in the Life or Health of a Person Insured must exist when the insurance
takes effect, but need not exist thereafter or when the loss occurs.
c. Beneficiaries of Life Insurance need not have insurable interest in the life of the
insured.
d. Beneficiaries of Property Insurance must have insurable interest in the property
insured.
Category
1. basis
2. when interest must exist

3.
amount
interest

of

insurable

Insurable Interest in Life


Insurance
may be based on pecuniary
interest,
affinity,
or
consanguinity
at the time the policy takes
effect EXCEPT: life insurance
taken by the creditor on the
life of the debtor wherein
interest must also exist at the
time of the loss
no limit EXCEPT: if insurable
interest is based on creditordebtor relationship (only to
the extent of the credit or
debt)

Insurable Interest in
Property
based purely on pecuniary
interest
at the time the policy takes
effect and at the time of the
loss

limited to the actual value of


damage/injury/loss

11. General Rule: A change of interest in any part of a thing insured unaccompanied by a
corresponding change in interest in the insurance suspends the insurance to an
equivalent extent, until the interest in the thing and the interest in the insurance are
vested in the same person.
Exceptions: a. In case of life, health, and accident insurance
b. when the change in interest results after the occurrence of an injury
which results in a loss
c. a change of interest in one or more several distinct things, separately
insured by one policy
d. a change in the interest by will or succession on the death of the insured
(interest passes to the heirs)
e. a transfer of interest by one of several partners, joint owners in common
who are jointly insured to the others (even though it has been agreed that
the insurance shall seize upon the alienation of the thing insured)

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
12. Revocation of Beneficiaries
General Rule: Insurance contracts are revocable.
Exception: Any person who is forbidden to receive any donation under Article 739
of the Civil Code cannot be named beneficiary of a life insurance policy by the
person who cannot make the donation to him.
The following donations shall be void:
a. those made between persons who were guilty of adultery or concubinage at the
time of the donation;
b. those made by persons found guilty of the same criminal offense, in
consideration thereof;
c. those made to a public officer or his wife, descendants, ascendants, by reason
of his office.
Other Pertinent Provisions on Revocation:
(a) The termination of a subsequent marriage shall allow the innocent spouse to
revoke the designation of the other spouse who acted in bad faith as beneficiary
in any insurance policy, even if such designation be stipulated as irrevocable.
(b) After the finality of the decree of legal separation, the innocent spouse may
revoke the donations as well as the designation of the latter as a beneficiary in
any insurance policy, even if such designation is irrevocable. The revocation of
or change in the designation shall take effect upon written notification thereof to
the insured. The action to revoke the donation under this article must be
brought within 5 years from the time the decree of legal separation has become
final.
(c) The interest of a beneficiary in a life insurance policy shall be forfeited when the
beneficiary is the principal, accomplice or accessory in willfully bringing about
the death of the insured, in which event, the nearest relative of the insured shall
receive the proceeds of said insurance if not otherwise disqualified.
13. Suspension - a change of interest in any part of a thing insured unaccompanied by a
corresponding change of interest in the insurance suspends the insurance to an
equivalent extent until the interest in the thing and the interest in the insurance are
vested in the same person.
14. Concealment - a neglect to communicate that which the party knows or ought to
communicate
General Rule: The insured is not required to communicate the nature (or kind) or
the amount of his insurable interest in the life or property insured to the insurer.
Exception: a. When the insurer makes inquiry from the insured of the nature or
amount of the latters insurable interest, whether in life or property insurance;
b. insurance policy must specify the interest of the insured in the
property insured, if he is not the absolute owner thereof.
A concealment, whether intentional or not, entitles the injured party to rescind a
contract of insurance.
Requisites:
(a) the party concealing must have knowledge of the facts concealed;
(b) the facts concealed must be material to the risk;
(c) the party is duty bound to disclose such fact to the other;
(d) the party concealing makes no warranty as to the facts concealed;
(e) the other party has no other means of ascertaining the facts concealed.

Note: An insured need not die of the very disease he failed to reveal to the insurer.
It is sufficient that the non-revelation has misled the insurer in forming his estimate
of the disadvantages of the proposed policy or in making his inquiries in order to
entitle the insurance company to avoid the contract.
Note: The insured is under an obligation to disclose not only such material facts as
are known to him, but also those known to his agent where:
a. it was the duty of the agent to acquire and communicate information of the facts
in question;
b. it was possible for the agent, in the exercise of reasonable diligence, to have
made the communication before the making of the insurance contract.

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
Failure on the part of the insured to disclose such facts known to his agent, or
wholly due to the fault of the agent, will avoid the policy, despite the good faith of
the insured.
15. Neither party to the insurance contract is bound to communicate information on the
following matters except in answer to the inquiries of the other:
a. those of which the other knows;
b. that which, in the exercise of ordinary care, the other ought to know and of which
the former has no reason to suppose his ignorance, i.e. political situation, general
usages of trade;
c. those of which the other waives communication;
d. those which prove or tend to prove the existence of the risk excluded by a warranty
and which are not otherwise material;
e. those which relate to a risk excepted from the policy and which are not otherwise
material.

Neither party is bound to communicate his mere opinion, even upon inquiry,
because such opinion would add nothing to the appraisal of the application.
Waiver of material facts may be:
(a) by the terms of the insurance; or
(b) by the neglect to make inquiry as to such facts, where they are distinctly implied
in other facts which information is communicated
Materiality is to be determined not by the events but solely upon the probable and
reasonable influence of the facts on the party to whom the communication is due in
forming his estimate of the disadvantages of the proposed contract or in making his
inquiries.
Concealment, whether intentional or not, entitles the other party to rescind the
contract.

16. Representation
It is a factual statement made by the insured at the time of, or prior to, the issuance
of the policy, to give information to the insurer and otherwise induce him to enter into the
insurance contract.

It may be made orally or in writing.


It may be made at the time of, or before, the issuance of the policy.
It may be altered or withdrawn before the insurance is effected, but not afterwards.
A representation cannot qualify an express provision in a contract of insurance but it
may qualify an implied warranty.
A representation as to the future is to be deemed a promise unless it appears that it
was merely a statement of belief or an expectation. (must be susceptible of present,
actual knowledge)
The statement of an erroneous opinion, belief or information, or of an unfulfilled
intention, will not avoid the contract of insurance, unless fraudulent.
Right to rescind because of false representation:
a. must be exercised previous to the commencement of an action on the contract (the
action referred to is that to collect a claim on the contract)
b. misrepresentation, whether intentional or not, gives the right to rescind
Incontestable Clause: After a policy of life insurance made payable on the death of the
insured shall have been in force during the lifetime of the insured for a period of 2 years
from the date of its issue or of its last reinstatement, the insurer cannot prove that the
policy is void ab initio or is rescindable by reason of the fraudulent concealment or
misrepresentation of the insured or his agent.
Exceptions: (a) absence of insurable risk
(b) cause of loss is an unexpected risk
(c) fraud
(d) non-payment of premium
(e) violation of conditions relating to naval or military services
(f) failure to comply with conditions subsequent to the occurrence of the
loss

10

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
17. Warranties:

General Rule: Non-performance of a promissory warranty avoids a contract of


insurance.
Exceptions:
a. when before the time for performance of the promissory warranty, a loss insured
against occurs;
b. when before the time of the performance of the warranty, the act becomes
unlawful;
c. when before the time of the performance of the warranty, said performance
becomes impossible.
A statement or a promise set forth in the policy or by reference incorporated therein,
the non-fulfillment of which in any respect and without reference to whether the
insurer was in fact prejudiced by such non-fulfillment, renders the policy voidable by
the insurer, wholly irrespective of the materiality of such statement or promise.

Warranty
part of the insurance contract
always written on the policy
conclusively presumed material
must be strictly complied with
made by the insured

Representation
collateral inducement
maybe oral or written
materiality must be proved
requires substantial truth
may be made by insurer or insured

Note: If there is a breach of warranty, even if the cause of the loss is a different risk,
the insurer is entitled to rescind the contract of insurance.
Breach must refer to a material warranty, whether intentional or not.

18. Policy
What is a Rider? It is an additional provision in a policy not part of the body of the
printed form.
Cover Note: written memorandum of the most important terms of a preliminary
contract of insurance, intended to give temporary protection pending the
investigation of the risk by the insurer, or until the issuance of a formal policy.
General Rule: Cover notes bind insurer temporarily pending the issuance of the
policy.
Exception: Where it is merely an acknowledgment on behalf of the company that
the latters branch office had received from the applicant the insurance premium
and accepted the application subject for processing by the insurance company and
that the latter will either approve or reject the same.
Kinds of Policies:
a. Open - the value of the thing insured is not agreed upon, but is left to be
ascertained at the time of the loss
b. Valued - expresses on its face an agreement that the thing insured shall be
valued at a specific sum
c. Running - contemplates successive insurance which provides that the object of
the policy may be from time to time defined especially as to the subject of
insurance by additional statements or endorsements
Note: If an amount is written on the face of an open policy, it is merely a
determination of the maximum limit of recovery and not as the value of the
policy.
Category
what needs to be proven in
order to be able to claim
determining value of loss

Open Policy
value of property upon loss
value of property is to be
ascertained upon loss

Valued Policy
no need for proof of value of
property upon loss
value of property upon loss is
conclusively stipulated to a
specified amount

11

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID

Period for commencing an action against the policy: Within 1 year from the time
the cause of action accrues, i.e., from the time of rejection of the claim by the
insurer. Any condition, stipulation, or agreement limiting the time to less than 1
year is void.
Grounds for Cancellation of a Policy by the Insurer:
For Policies Other than Life:
(1) prior notice of the cancellation to insured
(2) notice must be based on the ff. occurrences after effective date of the
policy
(a) non-payment of premiums
(b) conviction of a crime arising out of acts increasing the hazard insured
against
(c) discovery of fraud or material misrepresentation
(d) discovery of willful or reckless acts or omissions increasing the
hazard insured against
(e) physical changes in the property insured which results in the property
becoming uninsurable
(f) determination by the Commissioner that the continuation of the policy
would violate or would place the insurer in violation of the Insurance
Code
(3) notice must be in writing
(4) it must be mailed or delivered to the insured at the address shown in the
policy
(5) notice must state the ground relied upon and that upon written request of
the insured, the insurer will furnish facts on which the cancellation is
based
Renewal of the Policies Other than Life:
Insurer must mail or deliver to the insured notice of its intention not to renew the
policy or to condition its renewal upon reduction of limits or elimination of coverages
within 45 days before the policy ends. Otherwise, insured entitled to renew the
policy upon payment of the premium due on the effective date of the renewal.
19. Premium
General Rule: No policy is binding until the premium thereof has been paid.
Exceptions: (a) in case of life or industrial life policy, whenever the grace period
applies
(b) in case of estoppel
Insurer is entitled to payment of premiums as soon as the thing insured is exposed
to the perils insured against.
When insurer entitled to Return of Premiums
a. when the contract is voidable on account of fraud or misrepresentation of the
insurer;
b. when on account of facts, the existence of which the insured was ignorant
without his fault
c. when by any default of the insured other than actual fraud, the insurer never
incurred any liability under the policy
d. when the insured has become a public enemy and the policy automatically
canceled (on the ground of equity)
e. in case of over-insurance by several insurers (ratable return of premiums,
proportioned to the amount by which the aggregate sum insured in all policies
exceed the insurable value of the thing at risk)
20. Loss
When Insurer is Liable:
a. where the peril insured against was the proximate cause, although a peril not
contemplated by the contract may have been the remote cause or even the
immediate cause of the loss
b. where the thing insured is rescued from the peril insured against that would
otherwise have caused a loss, if, in the course of such rescue, the thing is
exposed to a peril not insured against, which permanently deprives the insured
of its possession in whole or in part

12

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
c. where loss is caused by efforts to rescue the thing insured from a peril insured
against
d. insurer is not exonerated by a loss caused by simple negligence of the insured if
the proximate cause of the loss is a peril insured against
e. loss, the immediate cause of which is a peril insured against except when the
proximate cause is an excepted peril

When Insurer Not Liable:


a. where the peril insured against was only a remote cause
b. where the peril is specifically excepted, a loss which would not have occurred but
for such peril is thereby excepted
c. loss caused by the connivance of the insured
d. loss caused by the willful act of insured
e. loss caused by insureds negligence, if it amounts to bad faith

General Rule: The insurer is not liable for a loss caused by the willful act of the
insured.
Exception: Suicide Clause in Life Insurance: Insurer liable in case insured
committed suicide after the policy has been in force for a period of 2 years from the
date of its issue or last reinstatement. If insured kills himself within a period of 2
years, insurer is not liable.
Exception to Exception: If suicide is committed in a state of insanity, regardless of
the time of commission, the insurer is liable.

21. Double Insurance - exists where the same person is insured by several insurers
separately in respect to the same subject and interest

Requisites:
b.
c.
d.
e.

a. person insured must be the same


existence of several insurers
subject matter insured must be the same
interest the same
risk insured against also the same

13

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
Over Insurance
may be only one insurer
insurance covers more than the value of
insurable interest

Double Insurance
must be 2 or more insurers
insurance may or may not exceed the value of
insurable interest

The Code prohibits double insurance without the consent of the insurer.
Liability of Insurer:

Insurance taken
from each insurer
---------------------------------- x
total insurance

value of property received

= liability of insurer

22. Reinsurance: A process by which an insurer procures a third person to insure him
against loss or liability by reason of such original insurance.
The original insured cannot recover from this insurance unless there is a specific
grant, or assignment of, the reinsurance contract in favor of the insured, or a manifest
intention of the contracting parties to the reinsurance contract to favor the insured.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

General Rule: The insurer who obtains reinsurance must communicate:


a. all the representations of the original insured; and
b. all the knowledge and information he possesses, whether
previously or subsequently acquired which are material to the risk
Exception: under automatic reinsurance treaties

Reinsurance
insurer becomes the insured
subject matter is the insured risk or liability
different risks and interests of insured
there must be consent of original
one who is original insured has no interest
in the contract of reinsurance which is
independent of the original contract of
insurance

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Double Insurance
insurer remains the insurer
subject matter is property
the same interest and risk are insured
insured has to give his consent
insured is the party in interest in all
contracts

23. Marine Insurance: insures against perils of the sea, not of the ship
Perils of the Sea
covered by marine insurance
denote nature accidents peculiar to the sea
which do not happen by intervention of man
nor are to be prevented by human prudence

Perils of the Ship


not covered by marine insurance
damage or losses resulting from:
1. natural and inevitable action of the sea
2. ordinary wear and tear of a ship, or
3. negligent failure of the ship owner to
provide the vessel with proper equipment
to convey the cargo under ordinary
conditions

Owner of the Ship has Insurable Interest:


a. in the ship even if it has been chartered by one who promises to pay him in value
in case of loss (insurer is liable for what insured cannot recover from the
charterer), even when hypothecated by bottomry (only the excess of its value
over the amount secured by bottomry) and
b. in the freightage, which according to the ordinary and probable course of things
he would have earned but for the intervention of a peril insured against or other
peril incident to the voyage

Charterer has insurable interest in the ship to the extent that he is liable to be damnified
by its loss.

14

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
Barratry: Any willful misconduct on the part of the masters or crew, in pursuance of
some unlawful or fraudulent purpose, without the consent of the owners and to the
prejudice of the owners interest.
Jettison: Intentional casting overboard of any part of a venture exposed to a peril,
whether it be of the cargo, or the ships furniture or tackle, in the hope of saving the
rest of the venture.
Insurable Interest in Marine Insurance: Determined when one will sustain loss from the
destruction of the subject matter or derive benefit from its preservation.
Charter Party: Contract by virtue of which the owner or the agent of a vessel binds
himself to transport merchandise or persons for a fixed price. It has also been
defined as a contract by virtue of which the owner or the agent of the vessel for the
transportation of goods or persons from one port to another.
Loan on Bottomry: Contract in the nature of a mortgage whereby the owner of a ship
borrows money for the use, equipment or repair of the vessel for a definite term, and
pledges the ship as a security for repayment, with maritime or extraordinary interest
on the account of the maritime risks to be borne by the lender. It is stipulated in such
a contract that if the ship be lost in the course of the specific voyage or during a
specified limited time caused by any of the perils enumerated in the contract, the
lender shall resolutely lose his money.
Loan on Respondentia: Contract akin to that of mortgage made on the goods on board
the ship, and which are to be sold or exchanged in the course of the voyage. The
goods serve as the principal security.
Freightage: Signifies all the benefits derived by the owner, carriage of his own goods,
or those of others.
Concealment: In marine insurance, information or the belief or expectation of a 3 rd
person, in reference to a material fact is material.
Concealment of the following merely exonerates the insurer from the resulting
loss therefrom:
a. national character of the insured
b. liability of the thing insured to capture and detention
c. liability to seizure from breach of foreign laws of trade
d. want of necessary documents
e. use of false and simulated papers
Implied Warranties:
a. that the ship is seaworthy - complied with if the ship is seaworthy at the time of
commencement of risk, except: (a) insurance for a specified length of time - at
the commencement of every voyage it undertakes during that time; (b) cargo to
be transshipped at indeterminate port - each vessel upon which cargo is shipped
is seaworthy at the commencement of each particular voyage
b. that the vessel shall not engage in illegal venture
c. that the vessel shall not deviate from the course of the voyage insured
d. where the nationality or neutrality of a ship or cargo is expressly warranted, it is
implied that the ship will carry the requisite documents to show such nationality or
neutrality and that it will not carry any documents which may cast reasonable
suspicion thereon
Seaworthiness depends on:
a. nature of the ship
b. nature of the voyage
c. nature of the service
Seaworthiness of the vessel is required only at the commencement of the risk
Exceptions:

15

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
a. in a Time Policy - commencement of every voyage that must be undertaken
b. in a Cargo Policy - commencement of each particular voyage
c. in a Voyage Policy - commencement of each portion of the voyage
Deviation
a. a departure from the course of the voyage insured
b. unreasonable delay in pursuing the voyage
c. commencement of an entirely different voyage
When is Deviation proper?
a. when caused by circumstances over which neither the master not the owner of the
ship has any control
b. when necessary to comply with a warranty or to avoid a peril whether it is insured
against or not
c. when made in good faith for the purpose of saving human life or relieving another
vessel in distress
d. when made in good faith and upon reasonable grounds of belief in its necessity to
avoid a peril
Loss
a. Actual Total Loss
a total destruction of the thing insured
the irretrievable loss of the thing by sinking or by being broken up
any damage to the thing which renders it valueless tot he owner for which he
held it
any other event which effectively deprives the owner of possession, at the port
of destination, of the thing insured
a. Constructive Total Loss - gives to the person insured the right to abandon
Average - any extraordinary or additional expense incurred during the voyage for the
preservation of the vessel, cargo, or both and all damages to the vessel and cargo
from the time it is loaded and the voyage commenced until it ends and the cargo
unloaded
General Average - an expense or damage suffered deliberately in order to save the
vessel, its cargo, or both from the real or known risk
Abandonment - act of the insured by which, after a constructive total loss, he declares
the relinquishment to the insured of his interest in the thing insured (where the cause
of loss is a peril insured against)
(a) more than thereof in value is actually lost or would have been expended to
recover it from the peril
(b) it is injured to such an extent as to reduce its value by more than
(c) if the thing insured is the ship and the voyage cannot be lawfully performed
without incurring an expense of more than of the whole, or a risk which a
prudent man would not undertake under the circumstances
(d) if the thing insured is cargo or freightage, and the voyage cannot be performed on
another ship procured by the master within a reasonable time and with reasonable
diligence to forward the cargo without incurring an expense or a risk as stated
above
Freightage cannot be abandoned unless ship is also abandoned.
Requisites of a Valid Abandonment:
a. must be total and conditional
b. made within a reasonable time
c. explicit notice
d. coupled with actual abandonment
Requisites for Valid Valuation in the Valued Marine Policy:
a. insured must have interest at risk
b. there must be no fraud on the insureds part

16

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
Notice of Abandonment:
a. may be oral or in writing (if oral, written notice must be submitted within 7 days
from oral notice)
b. must be explicit
c. must specify the particular cause for abandonment
d. need not be accompanied by proof of interest or loss
Acceptance of Abandonment
a. may be express or implied (i.e. silence for unreasonable length of time)
b. conclusive upon the parties and admits the loss and sufficiency of abandonment
c. irrevocable, unless the ground on which it is made is proved to be unfounded
If insurer refuses to accept a valid abandonment - liable as upon actual total loss
Upon actual abandonment
a. freightage earned before loss - belongs to the insurer of freightage
b. freightage earned after loss - belongs to insurer of ship
Co-insurance: form of insurance in which the person who insures his property for less
than the entire value is understood to be his own insurer for the difference which
exists between the true value of the property and the amount of insurance
Co-insurance applies only where the:
a. insurance taken is less than the actual value of the thing insured
b. loss is partial
Primage - increase in freightage
24. Fire Insurance
Insurer is liable for loss or damage caused by hostile fire (fire that escapes from the
place where it was intended to burn and ought to be in) and not that caused by friendly fire
(fire which burns in a place where it is intended to burn).
Scope of Fire Insurance:
a. fire
b. lightning
c. windstorms
d. tornado
e. earthquake
f. other allied risks
When does alteration in the use or condition entitle the insurer to rescind the contract?
a. such alteration violates a provision in the policy
b. it was made without the insurers consent
c. it is done within the insureds control, and it increases the risk of loss or damage
Rules:
a. policy shall not protect the insured from injury consequent upon his negligent use
or management of fire, so long as it is confined to the place where it ought to be
b. if it escapes, even though the insured was negligent, the insurer is liable
c. even though a fire may remain in its proper place, it may become hostile if it by
accident, becomes so extensive as to be beyond control
Options of the Insurer
a. purchase the property at appraised valuation
b. restore the property damaged - contract of insurance is discharged and parties
enter into a new contract of insurance
25. Casualty Insurance: Any injury that is intended, unexpected and unusual, even though
it results from an act or even which was intelligently done.

17

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID

Insurer is Liable for death/injury to insured:


a. by his own hand while insane
b. by taking poison by mistake
c. by overdoes of drugs administered or taken by mistake, by ignorance or material
pathological conditions
d. by unexpected bacterial infection consequent upon doing acts, even though
such acts were intentionally done
e. by unprovoked violence of others

Compulsory Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance


Persons subject to CMVLI:
a. motor vehicle owner or one who is the actual legal owner of a motor vehicle in
whose name such vehicle is registered with the LTO
b. land transport operator or one who is the owner of a motor vehicle or vehicles
being used for conveying passengers for compensation (including school
buses)

No Fault Indemnity Clause: The insurance company shall pay any claim for death or
bodily injuries sustained by a passenger or 3 rd party without the necessity of proving
fault or negligence of any kind subject to certain conditions. This does not apply to
property damage.

26. Suretyship - an agreement whereby the surety guarantees the performance of the
principal or obligor of an obligation or undertaking in favor of a 3 rd party called the
obligee
27. Life Insurance: an insurance in human life and insurance appertaining thereto or
connected therewith may be payable:
a. on the death of the insured
b. on his surviving a specified period
c. otherwise, contingently on the continuance or cessation of life
(b and c refer to endowment or annuities)

Uses and Common Kinds of Life Insurance:


a. Whole Life or Ordinary Policies - here, the insured agrees to pay annual, semiannual or quarterly premiums while he lives. The insurer agrees to pay the
face value of the policy upon the death of the insured.
b. Limited Payment Life Policy - premiums paid only for a specified period of
years.
c. Term Policy - insurers liability arises only upon the death of the insured within
the agreed term as period. If the latter survives the period, the contract
terminates and the insurer is not liable
d. Endowment Policy - insurer agrees to pay a certain sum to the insured if the
latter outlives a designated period; if he dies before that time, the proceeds are
paid to the beneficiary
e. Life Annuity - debtor binds himself to pay an annual pension or income during
the life of one or more persons in consideration of a capital consisting of
money or other property, whose ownership is transferred to him with the burden
of income

28. The Business of Insurance


a. Life or Endowment Policies
Grace Period - 30 days for the payment of any premium due after the first
premium has been paid
Period of Incontestability - after the lapse of 2 years from the date of issue or date
of approval of last reinstatement
Reinstatement of Policy - within 3 years from the date of default of premium, upon:
a. production of evidence of insurability, and

18

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
b. payment of all overdue premiums and any indebtedness to the company upon
said policy
Exceptions:
a. if cash surrender value has been paid
b. if period of extension has expired
b. Claims Settlement
Unfair Claims Settlement Practices:
(a) knowingly misrepresenting to claimants pertinent facts or policy provisions
relating to coverage at issue
(b) failing to acknowledge with reasonable promptness pertinent communications
with respect to claims arising under its policies
(c) failing to adopt or implement reasonable standards for the prompt investigation
of claims arising under its policies
(d) no attempt in good faith to effectuate prompt, fair and equitable settlement of
claims submitted in which liability has become reasonably clear
(e) compelling policy holders to institute suits to recover the amount due under its
policies by offering with no justifiable reason an amount substantially less than
that ultimately recovered in suits brought by them
Proceeds of Life Insurance - payable within 60 days after:
(a) presentation of claims, and
(b) filing of proof of death (upon failure to pay interest, at the rate of 2 times the
ceiling prescribed by the Monetary Board unless based on the ground that the
rate is fraudulent)
Proceeds of Policies other than Life - payable:
(a) upon proof of loss
(b) upon ascertainment of loss or damage (if not made within 60 days of proof of
loss, payable in 90 days)
c. Power of Commissioner to Suspend/Revoke License
(a) if insurance contract is in unsound condition
(b) if it has failed to comply with the provisions of law or regulations obligatory upon
it
(c) its conditions or methods of business s such as to render its proceedings
hazardous to the public or to its policy holders
(d) that its paid up capital stock, or its available cash assets, or its security deposits,
as the case may be, is impaired or deficient
(e) that the margin of solvency required of each company is deficient
Insurance Agent - any person who for compensation solicits or obtains insurance on behalf
of any insurance company or transacts for a person other than himself an application for a
policy or contract of insurance to or from such company or offers or assumes to act in
negotiating of such insurance. He must be first licensed as such before doing any acts as
insurance agent.
Insurance Broker - any person for any compensation, commission or any other thing of
value, acts, or aids in any manner in soliciting, negotiating or procuring the making of any
insurance contract or in placing risk or taking out insurance, on behalf of an insured other
than himself. A license is required.
WAREHOUSE RECEIPTS LAW
1. Warehouse - a building or place where goods are deposited and stored for profit.
2. Warehouseman - person lawfully engaged in the business of storing goods for profit.

Only a warehouseman may issue warehouse receipts.

19

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
3. Warehouse Receipt - written acknowledgment by a warehouseman that he has
received and holds certain goods therein described in store for the person to whom it is
issued.
4. Non-negotiable Receipt - receipt deliverable to a specified person.
5. Negotiable Receipt - receipt deliverable to order or to bearer.
6. Essential Terms which MUST be embodied in a Warehouse Receipt:
a. location of the warehouse
b. date of the issue of the receipt
c. consecutive number of the receipt
d. statement whether the goods received will be delivered to bearer, or a specified
person, or his order
e. rate of storage charges
f. description of the goods or packages containing them for identification purposes
g. signature of the warehouseman
h. statement of the amount of advances made and of liabilities incurred for which the
warehouseman claims as lien
7. Effect of omission of any of the essential terms:
a. The validity of the warehouse receipt is not affected.
b. The warehouseman shall be held liable for damages to those injured by his
omission.
c. The negotiability of the warehouse receipt is not affected.
d. The issuance of a warehouse receipt in the form provided by the law is merely
permissive and directory and not mandatory in the sense that if the requirements
are not observed, then the goods delivered for storage become ordinary deposits.
8. Terms which may be inserted in a Warehouse Receipt: Any other terms except (a)
those contrary to the provisions of this Act; (b) those that would impair a
warehousemans obligation to exercise that degree of care in the safekeeping of the
goods entrusted to him.
9. Marks to be made on a warehouse receipt:
a. A non-negotiable receipt must be clearly marked non-negotiable or not negotiable,
otherwise, the holder of the receipt who purchased it for value and who supposed it
to be negotiable, may treat it as negotiable.
b. Duplicate receipts must be so marked, otherwise, the warehouseman is held liable
for all damages suffered by a holder believing the same to be the original.
10. Warranties of a warehouseman as to duplicate receipts:
a. The duplicate is an accurate copy of the original receipt.
b. Such original receipt is uncancelled at the date of the issue of the duplicate.
11. Effects of alteration on the liability of the warehouseman:
a. If the alteration is IMMATERIAL (the tenor of the receipt is not changed), whether
fraudulent or not, authorized or not, the warehouseman is liable on the altered
receipt according to its original tenor.
b. If the alteration is MATERIAL but AUTHORIZED, the warehouseman is liable
according to the terms of the altered receipt.
c. If the alteration is MATERIAL, UNAUTHORIZED but INNOCENTLY MADE, the
warehouseman is liable on the altered receipt according to its original tenor.
d. If the alteration is MATERIAL and FRAUDULENTLY MADE, the warehouseman is
liable:
(1) to the purchaser of the receipt for value and without notice of the alteration
according to the tenor of the altered receipt
(2) to the alterer, according to the terms of the original receipt
(3) to subsequent purchasers with notice of the alteration, according to the terms of
the original receipt
12. Effects of misdescription of goods:

20

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
a. A warehouseman is under the obligation to deliver the identical property stored with
him and if he fails to do so, he is liable directly to the owner.
b. As against a bona fide purchaser of a warehouse receipt, the warehouseman is
estopped from denying that he has received the goods described in the receipt.
c. If the description consists merely of marks or label upon the goods or upon the
packages containing them, the warehouseman is not liable even if the goods are
not of the kind as indicated in the marks or labels.
13. Principal Obligations of a Warehouseman:
a. To take care of the goods entrusted to his safekeeping
General Rule: A warehouseman is required to exercise such degree of care
which a reasonable careful owner would exercise over similar goods of his own.
He shall be liable for any loss or injury to the goods caused by his failure to
exercise such care.
Exception: He shall not be liable for any loss or injury which could not have
been avoided by the exercise of such care.
Exception to the Exception: He may limit his liability to an agreed value of the
property received in case of loss. He cannot stipulate that he will not be
responsible for any loss caused by his negligence.
a. To deliver the goods to the holder of the receipt or the depositor upon demand,
provided demand is accompanied with:
(1) an offer to satisfy the warehousemans lien;
(2) an offer to surrender the negotiable receipt properly endorsed. If the receipt is
non-negotiable, any person lawfully entitled to the possession of the goods may
be entitled to delivery without surrender of the receipt.
(3) a readiness and willingness to sign an acknowledgment that the goods have
been delivered if such is requested by the warehouseman.
14. Persons to whom goods must be delivered:
A. Persons lawfully entitled to the possession of the goods or his agent:
a. persons to whom a competent court has ordered the delivery of the goods
(1) where a negotiable instrument has been lost or destroyed, the court may
order delivery to a person upon satisfactory proof of such loss or destruction
and upon proper posting of a bond to protect the warehouseman from any
liability or expense which he may incur by reason of the original receipt
remaining outstanding.
(2) where more than one person claims title or possession of the goods the
warehouseman may require all claimants to interplead. The court will then
order delivery to the person having a better right.
b. an attaching creditor - Goods, while in the possession of the warehouseman and
covered by a negotiable receipt, cannot be attached or levied upon under an
execution unless:
(I) the negotiable receipt is first surrendered to the warehouseman, or
(ii) its negotiation is enjoined, or
(iii) the receipt is impounded by the court
c. to the purchaser in case of sale of the goods by the warehouseman to enforce his
lien
d. to the purchaser where perishable or hazardous goods are sold at private or
public sale
B. If goods are covered by a non-negotiable receipt:
a. a person entitled to the delivery by the terms of the receipt, or
b. one who has written authority from letter a
C. If goods are covered by a negotiable receipt, a person in possession of the receipt,
the terms of which the goods are deliverable:
a. to him or order
b. to bearer
c. indorsed to him
d. indorsed in blank by the person whom delivery was promised
15. When is there Misdelivery?

21

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
When the warehouseman delivers the goods to a person who is not in fact lawfully
entitled to the possession of the goods because:
a. the person does not fall under letter B or C above; or
b. the person falls under letter B or C but prior to delivery, the warehouseman had
either:
(1) been requested by the person lawfully entitled to the delivery not to make such
delivery, or
(2) had information that the delivery about to be made was to one not lawfully
entitled to the possession of the goods
16. Effects of Misdelivery:
The warehouseman shall be liable for conversion to all having a right to property or
possession of the goods.
17. What happens if there is proper delivery or partial delivery but the warehouseman fails
to cancel the receipt or record on the receipt of such partial delivery?
a. If goods covered by a negotiable warehouse receipt are delivered by a
warehouseman but he fails to take the receipt and cancel it, then he is still liable to
one who purchases for value and in good faith such receipt.
b. If he makes partial delivery of the goods but fails to record the partial delivery on the
receipt then he may still be held liable for the entire receipt to one who purchases
for value and in good faith such receipt.
18. Lawful excuses for refusal to deliver goods:
a. The warehouseman can refuse to deliver the goods if he has acquired title or right
to the possession of the goods:
(1) directly or indirectly from a transfer made by the depositor at the time of the
deposit for storage or subsequent thereto; or
(2) from the warehousemans lien
b. If someone other than the depositor or person claiming under the depositor has a
claim to the title or possession of the goods and the warehouseman has information
of such claim, the warehouseman shall be excused from liability for refusing to
deliver the goods either to the depositor or person claiming under him until he has
had a reasonable time to ascertain the validity of the adverse claim or to bring legal
proceedings to compel all claimants to interplead.
c.

The warehouseman will not be required to deliver the goods if such had been lost.
But this is without prejudice to liabilities which may be incurred by him due to such
loss.

d. The warehouseman having a valid lien against the person demanding the goods
may refuse to deliver the goods to him until the lien is satisfied.
e. If goods have been lawfully sold or disposed of because of their perishable or
hazardous nature, the warehouseman shall not be liable for failure to deliver the
goods.
19. A warehouseman cannot refuse to deliver goods to the depositor or to a person
claiming under him on the ground that adverse title to the goods belongs to a third
person.
20. Rules as regards Co-mingling of Deposited Goods:
General Rule: A warehouseman may not co-mingle goods belonging to different
depositors or belonging to the same depositor for which separate receipts had been
issued.
Exception: A warehouseman may co-mingle fungible goods of the same kind and
grade provided he is authorized by agreement or by custom.
21. Effect of Co-mingling of Goods:
a. The different owners become co-owners of the whole mass.

22

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
b. The warehouseman shall be severally liable to each depositor for the care and
redelivery of his share of such mass to the same extent and under the same
circumstances as if the goods had been kept separate.
22. Remedies of a Creditor: (the debtor being the owner of the negotiable receipt)
Creditors of the depositors, before negotiation, may protect themselves by obtaining a
writ of preliminary injunction and serve the same on the depositor before he has a chance
to negotiate the receipt. Once enjoined, there will be no longer a danger that a 3 rd person
will be prejudiced so the goods may now be attached, levied upon, or that the vendors lien
or the right of stoppage in transit be exercised.
23. Warehousemans Lien
Extent of Warehousemans Lien:
A warehouseman shall have a lien on goods deposited or on the proceeds thereof
in his hands for:
a. all lawful charges for storage and preservation of the goods
b. all lawful claims for money advances, interest, insurance, transportation, labor,
weighing, cooperating and other charges and expenses in relation to such
goods
c. all reasonable charges and expenses for notice and advertisements of sale and
for sale of the goods where default has been made in satisfying the warehouse
lien
Goods Subject to lien:
a. goods belonging to the depositor who is liable to the warehouseman as debtor
whenever such goods are deposited and
b. goods belonging to other persons stored by the depositor who is liable to the
warehouseman as debtor with authority to make a valid pledge
How is a lien enforced?
a. by refusing to deliver the goods until the lien is satisfied
b. by causing the extrajudicial sale of the property and applying the proceeds to the
value of the lien
c. by filing a civil action for unpaid charges or by way of counterclaim in an action to
recover the property from him
How is a lien lost?
a. when the warehouseman voluntarily surrenders possession of the goods without
requiring payment of his lien; or
b. when the warehouseman wrongfully refuses to deliver the goods when a demand
is made with which he is bound to comply
24. Negotiation and Transfer of Receipts
How do we negotiate a receipt deliverable to order?
a. by indorsing it in blank thereby making it deliverable to bearer or
b. by special indorsement - which would require further indorsements for further
negotiations.
In both cases, the indorsements must be coupled with delivery.
How do we negotiate a receipt deliverable to bearer?
There is no need to indorse for negotiation. Physical delivery of the instrument will
suffice. But if the instrument is indorsed specially, the bearer character of the receipt is
destroyed and for further negotiation, there will be a need for indorsement.
Who may negotiate warehouse receipts?
a. the owner of the receipt, or
b. the person to whom possession of the receipt was entrusted to by the owner
Rights acquired by a person to whom the receipt has been negotiated:
a. the title of the person negotiating the receipt over the goods covered by the
receipt

23

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
b. the title of the person (depositor or owner) to whose order by the terms of the
receipt the goods were to be delivered
c. the direct obligation of the warehouseman to hold possession of the goods for
him, as if the warehouseman directly contracted with him
May non negotiable receipts be negotiated?
No, even if the receipt is indorsed, the transferee acquires no additional right. That
is why they are called non negotiable receipts. But they may be transferred or assigned
by delivery.
Rights of a person to whom a non negotiable receipt has been transferred:
a. the title to the goods as against the transferor
b. the right to notify the warehouseman of the transfer thereof and
c. the right thereafter to acquire the obligation of the warehouseman to hold the
goods for him
Distinction between a non negotiable receipt from a negotiable receipt with regard to
attachment or execution upon goods:
Non-negotiable Receipt
Negotiable Receipt
Prior to notification of the warehouseman by The goods cannot be attached or levied under
the
transferor
or
transferee,
the an execution unless the receipt be first
warehouseman is not bound to the transferee surrendered to the warehouseman or its
whose right may be defeated by a levy of an negotiation enjoined.
attachment or execution upon the goods by
the creditor of the transferor or by a
notification to such warehouseman of the
subsequent sale of the goods.
Rights of a person to whom a negotiable receipt has been transferred, not indorsed:
a. the right to the goods as against the transferor
b. the right to compel the transferor to indorse the receipt. But if the intention of the
parties is that the receipt should merely be transferred, the transferee has no
right to require the transferor to indorse the receipt.
Note: Negotiation takes effect as of the time when the indorsement is actually
made.
Warranties of a person negotiating or transferring a receipt:
a. the receipt is genuine
b. he has a legal right to negotiate or transfer it
c. he has knowledge that would impair the validity or worth of the receipt and
d. he has a right to transfer the title to the goods and that the goods are
merchantable
A holder for security of a receipt (mortgagee or pledgee) who in good faith accepts
payment of the debt from a person does not warrant the genuineness of the receipt
not the quality or quantity of the goods therein described.
It is the duty of the purchaser, mortgagee or pledgee of goods for which a negotiable
receipt has been issued to require the negotiation of the receipt to him, otherwise his
failure will have the same effect as an express authorization on his part to the seller,
mortgagor, or pledgor in possession of such receipt to make any subsequent
negotiation. The subsequent purchaser must have taken the receipt in good faith
and for value.
A bona fide purchaser of a negotiable warehouse receipt acquires title to the goods
where he purchases from the owners agent within the actual or apparent scope of
his authority. In sum, negotiation is valid despite having been made in breach of
trust.
Distinctions between a negotiable instrument and a negotiable warehouse receipt:

24

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
Negotiable Instrument
When a negotiable instrument is altered
deliberately, it becomes null and void.
If a negotiable instrument is originally payable
to bearer, it will always remain so payable
regardless of the way it is indorsed, whether
specially or in blank.
A holder in due course may be able to obtain
a title better than that which the party who
negotiated the instrument to him had.
The indorsement of a negotiable instrument
has a double effect. It is at the same time a
conveyance of the instrument and a contract
the indorser has with the indorsee that on
certain conditions, the indorser will pay the
instrument if the party primarily liable fails to
do so.

Negotiable Warehouse Receipt


When a warehouse receipt is altered, it is still
valid but it may be enforced only in
accordance with its original tenor.
If a warehouse receipt, payable to bearer, is
indorsed specially, it will be converted into a
receipt deliverable to order and can only be
negotiated further by indorsement and
delivery.
An indorsee even if a holder in due course
obtains only such title as the person
negotiating has over the goods.
The indorsement of a warehouse receipt
amounts merely to a conveyance by the
indorser. Accordingly, an indorser of a receipt
shall not be liable to the holder if, for example,
the warehouseman fails to deliver the goods
because they were lost due to his fault or
negligence.

GENERAL BONDED WAREHOUSE LAW

Any warehouseman receiving commodities for (a) storage; (b) milling; (c) co-mingling
must:
a. obtain prior license from the Bureau of Commerce
b. file a bond in an amount equivalent to 33 1/3 % of the capacity of the warehouse
against which bond depositors may sue directly
c. open to the public, no discrimination allowed
d. liable for double market value should he accept goods in excess of the capacity of
warehouse if goods are damaged or destroyed

Note: for palay and corn license, a bond with the National Grains Authority is required;
also an insurance cover is required.
Uniform Currency Law

1. Obligations Null and Void


a. obligations payable in gold/foreign currency
b. obligations payable in Philippine currency but measured in gold/foreign currency
2. Exempt Transactions
a. government to government transactions or with international banking institutions
b. transactions affecting high priority economic projects
c. forward exchange transactions between banks
d. import and export and other international banking, financial, investment and
industrial transactions
3. Merchants and Commercial Transactions
Classes of Investments:
a. Permitted - one allowed without need of prior authority from the Philippine
Government. If registered status, invest up to extent as not to affect its
registered status. If enterprise not registered, investment not to exceed 40%.
b. Permissible - invest in excess of 40% in unregistered enterprise but with prior
approval of BOI
c. Pioneer Area - (a) involves manufacturing, processing, production of product
not produced at all/produced in non-commercial scale; (b) uses a design,
scheme, formula that is new and untried in the Phils.; (c) agricultural
activities/services essential to the attainment of food sufficiency; (d) produces
non-conventional fuels/utilizes non-conventional sources of energy (all others
are non-pioneer)

25

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
4. Absolutely Disqualified to become Merchants
a. serving penalty of civil interdiction
b. insolvent
c. absolutely disqualified by special laws
5. Relatively Disqualified
a. judicial and prosecuting officials in active service
b. administrative, economic, military chiefs
c. government collection agents and custodian of funds
d. stock and commercial brokers
e. by special laws cannot trade in specified territories
6. Books a Merchant must keep
a. book of inventories and balances, statement of assets, liabilities and capital
b. journal of day to day operations
c. ledger for classifying accounts
d. copying book for letters and telegrams; if juridical person, include book of minutes
and stock and transfer book
7. Probative Value of Merchants Book
a. evidence against merchants themselves
b. in case of conflicts between 2 books - that which s properly kept prevails
c. if one keeps books and the other does not and cannot explain why, the former
prevails
d. if both books are properly kept and there is a conflict, other proofs can be resorted
to
8. Commercial Contracts by Correspondence are perfected from the moment the offeree
accepts the offer, even before knowledge of said acceptance by the offeror. This does
not apply to deposit, guaranty, sales, loan, agency, partnership.
9. Joint Account Partnership - business arrangement whereby 2 or more persons interest
themselves in the business of another by making contributions thereto and participating
in the results thereof
a. only one member is ostensible, others are silent
b. no common name
c. only ostensible partners can sue/be sued
d. no juridical personality
TRANSPORTATION LAW
1. Contract of Transportation - contract whereby a certain person or association of
persons obligate themselves to transport persons, things, news, from one place to
another for a fixed price
2. Parties to the Contract of Transportation:
a. Shipper - one who gives rise to the contract of transportation by agreeing to deliver
the things or news to be transported, or to present his own person or those of other
or others in the case of transportation of passengers
b. Carrier/Conductor - one who binds himself to transport persons, things, or news, as
the case may be, or one employed in or engaged in the business of carrying goods
for others for hire
3. Common Carrier - person, corporation, firm, association engaged in the business of
carrying or transporting passengers, goods or both, by land, water, air, for
compensation, offering services to the public; must exercise extraordinary diligence
Private Carrier - not engaged in the business of carrying; no public employment;
undertakes to deliver goods/passengers for compensation; requires only ordinary diligence
4. Requisites of Caso Fortuito
a. event independent of human will
b. occurrence makes it impossible for debtor to perform in normal manner

26

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
c. debtor free from aggravation/participation
d. impossible to foresee or avoid
5. Contributory negligence does not entitle passengers to recover moral/exemplary
damages.
6. Bill of Lading - written acknowledgment of receipt of goods and agreement to transport
them to a specific place to a person named or his carrier
It is not indispensable to the creation of a contract of carriage. The contract itself
arises from the moment goods are delivered by shipper to carrier and the carrier agrees to
carry them.
The function of the Bill of Lading: the legal basis of the contract between the
shipper and carrier shall be the bills of lading, by the contents of which all disputes which
may arise with regard to their execution and fulfillment shall be decided, no exceptions
being admissible other than forgery or material errors in the drafting thereof.
Carriers responsibility starts from the moment he receives unconditionally the
merchandise personally or through an agent and lasts until he delivers them actually or
constructively to the consignee or his agent.
Mere delay in the delivery of goods to consignee does not give right to refuse goods
- only breach of contract, ergo damages. If delay is unreasonable, then he may refuse to
accept and make carrier liable for conversion.
7. Vessels - those engaged in navigation, whether coastwise or on the high seas,
including floating docks, pontoons, dredges, scows and any other floating apparatus
destined for the services of the industry or maritime commerce
8. Persons Participating in Maritime Commerce:
a. ship owner and/or ship agent
b. captain or master
c. other officers of the vessel
d. supercargo
9. Liability of Ship owners and Ship agents:
a. civil liability for the acts of the captain
b. civil liability for contracts entered into by the captain to repair, equip and provision
the vessel, provided that the amount claimed was invested for the benefit of the
vessel
c. civil liability for indemnities in favor of 3 rd persons which may arise from the conduct
of the captain in the care of the goods which the vessel carried, as well as for the
safety of the passengers transported
Ship owner/ship agent not liable for the obligations contracted by the captain if the
latter exceeds his powers and privileges inherent in his position of those which may
have been conferred upon him by the former. However, if the amount claimed were
made use of for the benefit of the vessel, the ship owner or ship agent is liable.
10. Doctrine of Limited Liability - liability of shipowners is limited to amount of interest in
said vessel because of the real and hypothecary nature of maritime law such that
where the vessel is entirely lost, the obligation is extinguished.
Exceptions: (1) vessel is not abandoned
(2) claims under workmens compensation
(3) injury/damage due to shipowners fault
(4) vessel is insured
The doctrine also applies for claims due to death or injuries to passengers, aside
from claims for goods.
In abandoning the vessel, there is no procedure to be followed. There is neither a
prescriptive period within which the ship owner can make the abandonment. He
may do so for so long as he is not estopped from invoking the same or do acts
inconsistent with abandonment.
11. Roles of the Captain:
a. general agent of the ship owner
b. technical director of the vessels

27

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
c.

represents the government of the country under whose flag he navigates

12. Loan on Bottomry - made by shipowner/ship agent guaranteed by vessel itself,


repayable upon arrival at destination
13. Loan In Respondentia - taken on security of the cargo repayable upon the safe arrival
at cargo destination
14. Accidents and Damages in Maritime Commerce:
a. Averages
b. Arrivals Under Stress
c. Collisions
d. Shipwrecks
15. Average:
a. all extraordinary or accidental expenses which may be incurred during the voyage
for the preservation of the vessel or cargo or both
b. all damages or deterioration which the vessel may suffer from the time it puts to sea
at the port of departure until it casts anchor at the port of destination, and those
suffered by the merchandise from the time they are loaded in the port of shipment
until they are unloaded in the port of their consignment
16. Simple Average - expenses/damages caused to the vessel/cargo not inured to common
benefit and profit of all the persons interested in the vessel and her cargo; borne by
respective owners
17. General Average - expenses/damages deliberately caused in order to save the vessel,
its cargo or both from a real and known risk
Requisites:
a. deliberately incurred
b. intended to save vessel and cargo or both
c. from real and known risk
d. there is success
18. Formalities for Incurring Gross Average:
a. there must be an assembly of the sailing mate and other officers with the captain
including those with interests in the cargo
b. there must be a resolution of the captain
c. the resolution shall be entered in the log book, with the reasons and motives and
the votes for and against the resolution
d. the minutes shall be signed by the parties
e. within 24 hours upon arrival at the first port the captain makes, he shall deliver one
copy of these minutes to the maritime judicial authority thereat
19. Arrivals under Stress - arrival of the vessel at a port not of destination on account of (a)
lack of provisions; (b) well-founded fear of seizure; (c) by reason of accident of the sea
disabling it to navigate
When Not Lawful:
a. lack of provisions due to negligence to carry according to usage and customs
b. risk of enemy not well known or manifest
c. defect of vessel due to improper repair
d. malice, negligence, lack of foresight or skill of captain
20. Collision - impact of 2 vessels both of which are moving
21. Allision - striking of a moving vessel against one that is stationary
22. Cases of Collision:
a. due to the fault, negligence or lack of skill of the captain, sailing mate or the
complement of the vessel - ship owner liable for the losses and damages (Culpable
Fault)
b. due to fortuitous event or force majeure - each vessel and its cargo shall bear its
own damages (Fortuitous)

28

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
c. it cannot be determined which of the 2 vessels caused the collision - each vessel
shall suffer its own damages, and both shall be solidarily responsible for the losses
and damages occasioned to their cargoes (Inscrutable Fault)
23. Error in Extremis - sudden movement made by a faultless vessel during the 3 rd zone of
collision with another vessel which is at fault, even if the said movement is wrong, no
responsibility will fall on said vessel
24. Shipwreck - denotes all types of loss/ wreck of a vessel at sea either by being
swallowed up by the waves, by running against another vessel or thing at sea or on
coast where the vessel is rendered incapable of navigation
25. Salvage - the compensation allowed to persons by whose voluntary assistance a ship
at sea or her cargo or both have been saved in whole or in part from an impending
peril, or such property recovered from actual peril or loss, in cases of shipwrecks,
derelict or recapture; a service which one person renders to the owner of a ship or
goods by his own labor, preserving the goods or ship which the owner or those
entrusted with the care of them either abandoned in distress at sea or are unable to
protect and secure; a permit is required to engage in the salvage business
26. Derelict - a ship or cargo which is abandoned and deserted at sea by those who are in
charge of it, without any hope of recovering it, or without any intention of returning it
27. Elements of a Valid Salvage:
a. a marine peril
b. service voluntarily rendered when not required as an existing duty or from special
contract
c. success, in whole or in part, or that the services rendered contributed to such
success
28. Contract of Towage - contract whereby a vessel usually motorized pulls another from
one place to another for compensation. It is a contract of services.
29. Difference between Towage and Salvage:
Salvage
crew of salvaging ship is entitled to salvage,
and can look to the salvaged vessel for its
share
salvor takes possession and may retain
possession until he is paid
court has power to reduce the amount of
remuneration if unconscionable

Towage
crew of the towing ship does not have any
interest or rights with the remuneration
pursuant to the contract
tower has no possessory lien; only an action
for recovery of sum of money
court has no power to change amount in
towage even if unconscionable

CARRIAGE OF GOODS BY SEA ACT


1. When Applicable:
a. contracts for the carriage of goods
b. by sea
c. to and from Philippine ports
d. in foreign trade
2. Notice of Loss or damage must be given in writing to the carrier or his agent at the port
of discharge or at the time of the removal of the goods into the custody of the person
entitled to delivery. If the loss or damage is not apparent, the notice must be given
within 3 days of delivery. However, the carrier shall be discharged from all liability in
respect of loss or damage of goods unless suit is brought within 1 year after delivery of
the goods or the date when the goods should have been delivered. Notice of loss, if
not given, that fact shall not affect or prejudice the right of the shipper to bring suit
within the 1 year prescriptive period.
WARSAW CONVENTION

29

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
1. When Applicable:
a. international transport by air
b. transport of persons, baggage, or goods
2. Liabilities under the Convention:
a. damage sustained in the event of the death or wounding of a passenger taking
place on board the aircraft or in the course of any of the operations of embarking or
disembarking
b. loss or damage to any check baggage or goods sustained during the transport by
air
c. delay in the transport by air of passengers, baggage, or goods
Enumeration of causes of action as above stated is not an exclusive list. (Northwest
Airlines vs. Cancer)
3. Meaning of Transport by Air - period during which the baggage or goods are in charge
of the carrier, whether in an airport or on board an aircraft, or in the case of landing
outside an airport, in any place whatsoever
4. Action for damages must be brought at the option of the plaintiff, either:
a. before the court of the domicile of the carrier;
b. court of principal place of business of carrier;
c. court where he has a place of business through which the contract has been made;
d. before the court at the place of destination
5. Convention provides for a limitation of liability:
a. for each passenger - limited to 125,000 francs
b. for goods and checked in baggage - limited to 250 francs per kilogram
c. for hand carry - limited to 5,000 francs per passenger
When can you not avail of this limitation?
(1) willful misconduct
(2) default amounting to willful misconduct
(3) accepting passengers without ticket
(4) accepting goods without airway bill or baggage without baggage check
6. The right to damages shall be extinguished if an action is not brought within 2 years
from the date of arrival at the destination, or from the date on which the aircraft ought to
have arrived, or from the date on which the transportation stopped.
7. Notice requirement: damage to baggage : within 3 days from receipt
damage to goods: within 7 days from receipt
delay: within 21 days from receipt
Failure to file written notice, no action shall lie against the carrier, save in the case of
fraud on his part.
8. Notice Requirements:
loss/damage
apparent
loss/damage
not
apparent
damage of baggage

COGSA
protest at time of
receipt of goods
protest within 3 days
from delivery

Code of Commerce
protest at time of
receipt of goods
protest
within
24
hours after receipt

Warsaw Convention

protest within 3 days


from receipt
within 7 days from
receipt
within 21 days from
receipt

damage of goods
delay

PUBLIC SERVICE ACT


1. Every person that may own, operate, manage, control in the Philippines, for
hire/compensation with general/limited clientele whether permanent, occasional,

30

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
accidental, and done for a general business purpose any common carrier, shipyard,
electric light, heat and power and public utility.
2. Public Utility - business or service engaged in regularly supplying the public with some
commodity or service of public consequence such as electricity, gas, water,
transportation, telephone or telegraph service.
3. Prior Operator Rule - before permitting a new operator to invade the territory of another
already established, the prior operator must be given an opportunity to extend its
service to meet the public needs in the matter of transportation.
4. Prior Applicant Rule - presupposes a situation where two interested persons apply for a
CPC in the same community over which no person has yet been granted a CPC to
operate. If both applicants equal, then the applicant who applied first will be given the
CPC.
5. Distinctions between CPCs and CPCNs
Certificate of Public Convenience
any authorization to operate a public service
issued by the appropriate government agency
an authorization issued by the proper
government agency for the operation of public
services for which no franchise, either
municipal or legislative is required by law

Certificate of Public Convenience and


Necessity
issued by the appropriate government agency
to a public service to which any political
subdivision has granted a franchise
an authorization issued by the proper
government agency for the operation of public
services for which a franchise is required by
law

6. Requirements of CPC and franchise:


a. Filipino citizenship
b. financial capacity
c. public convenience
CORPORATION LAW
1. Doctrine of Corporate Opportunity - a director is made to account to his corporation,
gains and profits from transactions entered into by him/another competing corporation
in which he has substantial interest, which should have been a transaction undertaken
by the corporation. This s a breach of fiduciary relationship.
2. Doctrine of Piercing the Veil of Corporate Entity - it is to disregard for justifiable reasons
by the state the fiction of juridical personality of the corporation separate and distinct
from the persons composing it
3. De Jure Corporation - corporation formed with all the requirements of law
4. De Facto Corporation - corporation defectively formed from a bona fide attempt to
incorporate under the existing law and exercises corporate powers
5. Corporation by Estoppel - a group of persons which holds itself out as a corporation
and enters into a contract with 3 rd persons on the strength of such appearance cannot
be permitted to deny its existence in an action under said contract
6. Corporation by Prescription - body not lawfully organized as a corporation but has been
recognized by immemorial usage as a corporation with rights and duties maintainable
by law (ex. Roman Catholic)
7. Trust Fund Doctrine - the subscribed capital stock of the corporation is a trust fund for
the payment of debts of the corporation which the creditors have the right to look up to
satisfy their credits. Corporations may not dissipate this and the creditors may sue the
stockholders directly for their unpaid subscriptions
8. Voting Shares

31

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
a. Founders Shares - given rights and privileges not enjoyed by owners of other
stocks; right to vote/be voted in the election of directors shall not exceed 5 years
Non-Voting Shares
a. Preferred Shares - issued only with par value; given preference in distribution of
assets in liquidation and in payment of dividends and other preferences stated in
the articles of incorporation
b. Redeemable Shares - expressly provided in articles; have to be purchased/taken up
upon expiration of period of said shares purchased whether or not there is
unrestricted retained earnings
c. Treasury Stocks - stocks previously issued and fully paid for and reacquired by the
corporation through lawful means (purchase, donation, etc.)
9. Exceptions where holders of non-voting shares may vote:
a. amendments of articles of incorporation
b. adoption/amendment of by-laws
c. increase/decrease of bonded indebtedness
d. increase/decrease of capital stock
e. sale/disposition of all/substantially all corporate property
f. merger/consolidation of corporation
g. investment of funds in another corporation/another business purpose
h. corporate dissolution
10. Preferred Cumulative Participating Share of Stock - share entitling its holder to
preference in the payment of dividends ahead of common stockholders and to be paid
the dividends ahead of common stockholders and to be paid the dividends due for prior
years and to participate further with common stockholders in dividend declarations
11. Promotion Stock for Services Rendered Prior to Incorporation Escrow Stock - stock
deposited with a 3rd person to be delivered to stockholder/assignor after complying with
certain conditions - usually payment of full subscription price
12. Over-issued Stock - stock issued in excess of authorized capital stock; null and void
13. Watered Stock - stock issued gratuitously, money/property less than par value, services
less than par value, dividends where no surplus profits exist
14. Certificate of Stock - written acknowledgment by the corporation of the stockholders
interest in the corporation. It is the personal property and may be mortgaged/pledged.
Transfer binds the corporation when it is recorded in the corporate books. A
stockholder who does not pay his subscription is not entitled to the issue of a stock
certificate. The total par value of the stocks subscribed by him should first be paid.
15. Chattel mortgage of shares registered with the Registrar of Deeds need not be
registered in corporate books to bind third parties because corporate books only cover
absolute transfers. But the pledgee/mortgagee may not have voting rights unless
stated in the contract and registered in the corporate name.
16. Methods of Collection of Unpaid Subscription
a. call, delinquency and sale at public auction of delinquent shares
b. ordinary civil action
c. collection from cash dividends and other amounts due to stockholders if allowed by
by-laws/agreed to by him
17. A corporation can reacquire stocks in the following cases:
a. eliminate fractional shares
b. corporate indebtedness arising from unpaid subscriptions
c. purchase delinquent shares
d. exercise of appraisal right
18. Right of Appraisal
a. amending articles, changing, restricting, enlarging stockholders rights/extending,
shortening corporate life
b. sale/disposition of all/substantially all of corporate assets

32

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
c. merger and consolidation
d. investment of funds in another corporation/for a different purpose
19. Grounds for Rejection of Registration
a. not in prescribed form
b. purpose illegal, inimical
c. treasurers affidavit false
d. non-compliance with required Filipino stock ownership
20. Corporation must organize within 2 years from issuance of certificate of incorporation.
How to organize?
a. adoption of by-laws
b. election of Board of Directors
c. election of officers
But from issuance of certificate, it acquires juridical personality
21. Merger - one corporation absorbs the other and remains in existence while the other is
dissolved
22. Consolidation - a new corporation is created and the consolidating corporations are
extinguished
23. Theory of General Capacity - a corporation is said to hold such powers as are not
prohibited/withheld from it by general law
24. Theory of Special Capacity - the corporation cannot exercise powers except those
expressly/impliedly given
25. Concession Theory - a group of persons wanting to create a corporation will have to
execute documents and comply with requirements set by the state before being given
corporate personality; merely a privilege; state may provide causes for which the
privilege may be withdrawn
26. Acts requiring majority vote of stockholder:
a. filing of issue value of no par value share
b. adoption, amendment, repeal of by-laws
c. compensation and other per diems for directors
27. Where similar acts have been approved by the directors as a matter of general
practice, custom and policy, the general manager may bind the company even without
formal authorization of the board of directors
28. Powers of stockholders:
a. a direct participation in management - where his vote is needed to approve certain
corporate actions
b. indirect participation in management to vote or remove directors
c. proprietary rights
d. remedial rights
29. Voting Trust Agreement - an agreement between a group of stockholders and trustee
for a term not exceeding 5 years in which control over the stocks is lodged in the
trustee. The purpose is for controlling the voting.
a. in writing, notarized and filed with the SEC and the corporation
b. period not exceeding 5 years
c. cannot be entered into to circumvent the laws against monopolies, illegal
combinations in restraint of trade in fraud
30. Cumulative Voting - the number of votes that a shareholders number of shares
multiplied by the number of directors may give all said votes to one candidate or he
may distribute them as he may deem fit. Cumulative voting is a matter of right in a
stock corporation. In a non-stock corporation, it cannot be utilized unless allowed by
the by-laws/articles

33

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
31. The power of removal of directors that may be exercised with or without cause cannot
apply to the director representing the minority shareholders. He may only be removed
with cause.
32. General Rule: If surplus profits exceed the requirements the corporation shall declare
dividends. This is compulsory if the surplus is equal/or more than the paid-up capital.
Exceptions:
a. justified by approved expansion projects
b. prohibited by creditor to declare dividends
c. retention is necessary under existing circumstances
33. Business Judgment Rule - decisions made by a corporations management body shall
not be interfered with even by the courts unless such acts are
oppressive/unconscionable as to violate the rights of the minority
34. Individual Suit - one brought to assert a right of a stockholder peculiar to himself
35. Representative Suit - brought by the stockholder in his own behalf and in behalf of
other stockholders similarly situated, having common cause against the corporation
36. Derivative Suit - brought by a stockholder for and in behalf of the corporation to
protect/vindicate corporate rights after he has exhausted intra-corporate remedies
Requisites:
a. cause of action in favor of the corporation
b. refusal of corporation to sue
c. injury to the corporation

Although corporations dissolved have 3 years to wind up, they can convey their
properties to a trustee who can continue the suit beyond the 3 year period. The lawyer
who handled the case in the trial court may be considered as trustee for the dissolved
corporation with respect to the matter in litigation only even if no appointment was
extended to him. (Selano vs. CA)
In a case filed before dissolution, it may continue even beyond the 3 year period until
final determination of litigation. Otherwise, the corporation in liquidation would lose
what justly belongs to them/be exempt from payment of obligations because of a
technicality.

37. Foreign Corporations


a. Doing Business - continuity of commercial dealings incident to prosecution of
purpose and object of the organization. Isolated, occasional or casual transactions
do not amount to engaging in business. But where the isolated act is not
incidental/casual but indicates the foreign corporations intention to do other
business, said single act constitutes engaging in business in the Philippines
b. Instances when unlicensed foreign corporations can sue:
(1) isolated transactions
(2) action to protect good name, goodwill, and reputation of a foreign corporation
(3) contracts provide that Phil. Courts will be venue to controversies
(4) license subsequently granted enables foreign corporation to sue on contracts
executed before the grant of the license
(5) recovery of misdelivered property
(6) where the unlicensed foreign corporation has a domestic corporation
38. Religious Corporations
a. Corporation Sole - special form of corporation; associated with the clergy and
consists of 1 person only and his successors; incorporated by law giving them legal
capacity and advantage
b. Close Corporations - one whose articles provide that its shares shall not be held by
more than 20 persons; its issued stock shall be subject to one or more restrictions
on transfer and shall not be listed in any stock exchange/make public offering
c. Non-stock Corporation - one where no part of its income is distributable to its
members and shall be used in furtherance of the purpose of which it was organized

34

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
39. SEC Jurisdiction
a. original and exclusive jurisdiction
(1) fraudulent devices and schemes employed by directors detrimental to public
interest
(2) intra-corporate disputes and with the state in relation to their franchise and right
to exist as such
(3) controversies in the election, appointment of directors, trustees, etc.
(4) petition to be declared in a state of suspension of payments
b. Grounds for Suspension/Revocation of Certificate of Registration
(1) fraud in procuring registration
(2) serious misrepresentation as to objectives of corporation
(3) refusal to comply with lawful order of SEC
(4) continuous inoperation for at least 5 years
(5) failure to file by-laws within the required period
(6) failure to file reports
(7) other similar grounds
REVISED SECURITIES ACT
(Material on the Securities Regulation Code of 2000 to follow)
1. General Rule: All securities before being offered for sale/actual sale to the public must
first be registered and have the proper permit.
Exception:
a. exempt securities
b. securities emanating from exempt transactions
2. Exempt Securities
a. issued by the government subdivisions/instrumentalities
b. issued by foreign government which the Philippines has diplomatic relations
c. issued by receiver/trustee of an insolvent approved by the court
d. issued by building and loan association
e. issued by receiver/trustee of an insolvent approved by the court
f. policy of insurance issued by insurance corporation supervised by the insurance
commission
g. security/right/interest in real property including subdivision lot/condominium
supervised by the Ministry of Human Settlements
h. pension plans regulated by BIR/Insurance Commission
3. Exempt Transactions
a. judicial sale by execution, etc. in insolvency
b. sale of pledged property/foreclosed property to liquidate an obligation
c. isolated transactions on securities done by owner/agent
d. stock transfers emanating from mergers and consolidations
e. pre-incorporation subscription
f. securities issued by public service operator to broaden equity base
4. Grounds for Rejection of Registration
a. application incomplete/untruthful/omits to state a material fact
b. issuer/registrant insolvent, violated code/ SEC rules, engages in fraudulent
transactions
c. issuers business not sound
d. officer, director, stockholders of issuers is disqualified
e. issue would prejudice the public
5. Grounds for Revocation
a. issuer insolvent
b. violated of Code/SEC rules
c. fraudulent transaction
d. dishonesty by issuer/misrepresented prospectus
e. does not conduct business in accordance with law

35

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
6. Acts Prohibited
a. manipulation of security prices
b. manipulation of deceptive devices
c. artificial measures of price control
d. fraudulent transactions
e. insider trading
f. false prospectus, communications, reports
SECRECY OF BANK DEPOSITS
1. Deposits in banks, including government banks, may not be inquired into by any
person, except:
a. if depositor agrees in writing
b. impeachment cases
c. by court order in cases of bribery and dereliction of duty against public officials
d. deposit is subject of litigation
e. anti-graft cases
f. general and special examination of bank order of the Monetary Board of bank fraud
or serious irregularity
g. re-examination made by an independent auditor hired by a bank to conduct its
regular trust
LAWS ON INTELLECTUAL CREATION
Copyright
1. What Works are not Protected:
a. any idea, procedure, system, method or operation, concept, principle, discovery, or
mere data as such, even if they are expressed, explained, illustrated or embodied in
a work; news of the day or other miscellaneous facts, having the character of mere
items of press information, or any official text of a legislative, administrative or legal
nature as well as any official translation thereof
b. works of the government
c. statutes, rules, and regulations of government agencies and offices
d. speeches, lectures, sermons, addresses and dissertations, pronounced or rendered
in courts of justices or nay administrative agencies in deliberative assemblies and
meetings of public character
2. Fair Use of a Copyrighted Work is not Infringement
a. for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, research, scholarship, and similar
purposes
b. decompilation: the reproduction of the code and translation of the forms of the
computer program with other programs
3. Factors to Consider in Determining Fair Use:
a. purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial
nature or for no profit or educational purposes
b. nature of the copyrighted work
c. amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as
a whole
d. effect of use upon the potential market for a value of the copyrighted work
4. Terms of the Protection
a. copyrighted work: lifetime of creator plus 50 years after death (to be computed on
the 1st day of January of the year following the death)
b. performances not incorporated in recordings: 50 years from end of year in which
the performance took place
c. sound or image and sound recordings and performances incorporated therein: 50
years from end of the year in which the recording took place
d. broadcasts: 20 years from the date the broadcast took place
5. Remedies for Infringement
a. injunction

36

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
b. actual damages, including legal costs and other expenses, as he may have incurred
due to the infringement as well as the profits the infringer may have made due to
such infringement
c. impounding of articles during pendency of the action
d. destruction of all infringing copies and/or devices
e. moral and exemplary damages
6. Criminal Penalties
a. imprisonment of 1 to 3 years plus fine of P50,000 to P150,000 for the first offense
b. imprisonment of 3 years and 1 day to 6 years plus fine ranging from P150,000 to
P500,000 for the 2nd offense
c. imprisonment of 6 years and 1 day to 9 years plus fine of P500,000 to P1,000,000
for the 3rd/subsequent offenses
IN ALL CASES, subsidiary imprisonment in cases of insolvency
7. Presumptions:
a. Presumption of copyright in the work of other subject matter to which the action
related
b. Plaintiff is presumed to be the owner of the copyright
c. The natural person whose name is indicated on a work in the usual manner as the
author shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be presumed to be the author
of the work. This is applicable even if the name is a pseudonym, where the
pseudonym leaves no doubt as to the identity of the author.
8. Prescription: No damages may be recovered after 4 years from time the cause of
action arose.
Patents
1. Patentable Inventions - any technical solution of a problem in any field o human activity
that is new, involve an inventive step and is industrially applicable shall be patentable.
It may be or may relate to as product, or process or an improvement of any of the
foregoing.
2. Non-Patentable Inventions
a. discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods
b. schemes, rules and methods of performing mental acts, playing games or doing
business, and programs for computers
c. methods for treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy and
diagnostic methods practiced on the human or animal body
Exception: products and composition for use in any of these methods
d. plant varieties or animal breeds or essentially biological process for the production
of plants and animals
Exception: micro-organisms and non-biological and micro-biological processes
e. aesthetic creations
f. contrary to public order or morality
3. Requisites of Patentability
a. new, novelty
b. involves an inventive step;
c. is industrially applicable
4. Novelty
The novelty requirement in the Code is absolute. Thus, an invention is not considered
new if it forms part of a prior art. A prior art consists of:
a. anything which has been made available to the public anywhere in the world before the
filing date or the priority date of the application, or
b. the whole contents of an application for a patent, utility model, or industrial design
registration, published in the IPO gazette, filed or effective in the Philippines, with a
filing or priority date that is earlier than the filing or priority date of the application,
provided that the application which has validly claimed the filing date of an earlier
application (priority date) is prior art with effect as of the filing date of such earlier

37

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
application, and provided further, that the applicant and the inventor identified in both
applications are not one and the same
5. Inventive Step - an invention involves an inventive step, if having regard to the prior art,
it is not obvious to a person skilled in the art at the time of the filing date of priority date
of the application claiming the invention
6. Industrial Applicability - an invention is considered industrially applicable if it can be
produced and used in the industry
7. The First-to-File System - if 2 or more persons have made the invention separately and
independently of each other, the right to the patent belongs to the person who filed an
application for such invention, or where 2 or more applications are filed for the same
invention, the right of the patent belongs to the person who has the earliest filing date
or the earliest priority date
Under this system, the patent is granted to the inventor who filed his patent application
earlier than others thus simplifying the determination of who is entitled to own the patent.
The First-to-File System increases the rights of the inventor by:
a. guaranteeing the confidentiality of the application prior to its publication
b. giving the inventor inchoate rights against an infringer after the publication of the
application and before the grant of the patent and
c. expanding the rights of the inventor to institute cancellation proceedings for the
duration of the term of the patent. Cancellation proceedings may be filed at any
time during the term of the patent.
Under this system, the applicant declared by final court order as having the right to the
patent may:
a. prosecute the application as his own application in place of the original applicant
b. file a new patent application in respect of the same invention
c. request that the application be refused or
d. seek the cancellation of the patent, if one has already been issued
8. What is the difference between novelty in patents and originality in copyright?
Novelty in Patents - even if you do not know of any previous creation, as long as a
patent on the same creation has already been published anywhere in the world, you
cannot claim novelty. No access tot he other creation is no defense.
Originality in Copyright - even if there is same creation, as long as you do not copy
your own creation, it is still considered an original creation. No access to the previous
creation is a defense.
9. Non-Prejudicial Disclosure
The disclosure of information contained in the application during the 12 months
preceding the filing date or the priority date of the application shall not prejudice the
applicant on the ground of lack of novelty if such disclosure was made by (a) inventor; (b) a
patent office and the information was contained
10. Term of Patent - 20 years from the filing date of the application
11. Grounds for Compulsory Licensing:
a. national emergency or other circumstances of extreme urgency
b. where public interest, national security, health or the development of other vital
sectors of the national economy as determined by the appropriate agency of the
government so requires
c. where a judicial or administrative body has determined that the manner of
exploitation by the owner of the patent or his licensee is anti-competitive
d. in case of public non-commercial use of the patent by the patentee, without
satisfactory reason
e. if not being worked in the Philippines on a commercial scale
12. In case of Compulsory Licensing of Patents involving Semi-conductor Technology, the
license may be granted only in case of public non-commercial use or to remedy a
practice determined after judicial or administrative process to be anti-competitive

38

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
13. Utility Models - an invention qualifies for registration as a utility model if it is new and
industrially applicable
- no inventive step required for registration
- no search and examination required
14. Term Protection - 7 years after the filing date of application without possibility of
renewal
15. Industrial Design - any composition of lines or colors or any 3 dimensional form,
whether or not associated with lines or colors
Industrial Designs essentially dictated by technical or functional considerations to
obtain a technical result or those that are contrary to public order, health or morals shall not
be protected
16. Term of Protection - 5 years from filing date of application, renewable for not more than
2 consecutive periods of 5 years each
Insolvency Law
1. Distinguish Suspension of Payment and Insolvency
Suspension of Payment
Insolvency
debtor has enough assets to meet liabilities debtor has more liabilities than assets
but cannot meet them as they fall due
always initiated by debtor
initiated by creditors/other persons
involuntary; initiated by debtor if voluntary
2. Fraudulent Preference - any act of insolvent which gives rise/has tendency to give
preference to a creditor to the assets of the insolvent prejudicial to the right of other
creditors of said insolvent
3. Effect on Actions Upon Adjudication of Insolvency
a. suits pending in court
(1) secured obligations suspended until assignee appointed
(2) unsecured obligations terminated except to fix amount of obligation
(3) foreclosure suits pending continue
b. suit not yet filed - cannot be filed anymore, but claims may be presented to
assignee
4. Debts and Obligations not Affected by Discharge of Insolvent
a. assessments due to national and local government
b. debts due to fraud/embezzlement
c. debts in which he is bound solidarily
d. alimony
e. corporate debts
f. debts not included in the schedule submitted by debtor
Chattel Mortgage Law
1. The law primarily governs chattel mortgage. Provisions on pledge of NCC in so far as
not in conflict with CML also govern chattel mortgages.
2. Chattel Mortgage may be rescinded for being in fraud of creditors.
3. Growing fruits are covered by chattel mortgage but they may not be pledged.
4. Machinery placed on plant or building owned by another can be the object of chattel
mortgage.
5. General Rule: Chattel Mortgage cannot cover debts subsequently contracted.
6. Rules: Chattel Mortgage cannot cover debts subsequently contracted
a. registered in place where mortgagor resides and where property (chattel) is located.
If mortgagor resides abroad, register in place where property is located.

if

39

C O M M E R C I A L L AW MEMORY AID
b. Motor Vehicles: register also in Land Transportation Office
c. Shares of Stock: place of domicile of corporation and shareholder. No need for
notation in books of corporation
d. Vessels: Phil. Coastguard
7. To be valid against 3rd persons:
a. affidavit of good faith
b. contract must be registered
8. General Rule: In Chattel Mortgage, there is recovery of deficiency judgment.
Exception: when Recto Law applies
9. Requisites of CML:
a. constituted to secure the fulfillment of principal obligation
b. mortgagor is absolute owner of the thing mortgaged
c. persons constituting the mortgage have the free disposal of the property and in the
absence thereof, they be legally authorized for the purpose
d. recorded to bind 3rd persons
10. Formal Requisites of CM:
a. substantial compliance with form in Sec. 5 of CML
b. signed by at least 2 witnesses
c. must contain an affidavit of good faith
d. certificate of oath (notarial acknowledgment)
11. Affidavit of Good Faith - where the parties severally swear that the mortgage is made
for the purpose of securing the obligation specified and for no other purpose and that
the same is a just and valid obligation and not one entered into for fraud
- property given in CM must be described to enable the parties
or any other person after reasonable inquiry and investigation to identify it
12. Future property may not be covered by CM but when such property is a:
a. renewal of, or in substitution for goods on hand when the mortgage was executed,
or
b. purchased with proceeds (not of your own money) of said goods, said property may
be covered by CM
13. Criminal Acts - removal of chattel to another city or province without written consent of
mortgagee, selling property already pledged, or mortgaged without written consent of
mortgagee
14. A chattel mortgage may be foreclosed judicially or extra-judicially, in the latter case,
before a notary or sheriff, or creditor or mortgagee when stipulated, even without need
of notice (when mortgagee forecloses)
15. Pactum Commissorium applies to Chattel Mortgage.

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen